


Library

by lrhaboggle



Category: The Devil's Carnival (Movies)
Genre: Book - Freeform, Cute, F/F, Fluff, Job - Freeform, LGBT, Lesbian, Librarian - Freeform, Library, Love, Romance, Work, coworker - Freeform, little adventures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-19 16:43:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14241540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lrhaboggle/pseuds/lrhaboggle
Summary: Cora helps June get a job with her at the library but since it's June, that means that a normally-mundane job becomes one of adventure and amusement.





	Library

Cora Stein stretched as far as she could. She wasn't that small, but it was hard trying to shelve such a huge book on such a high shelf. She was currently working a shift at the library. She had been hired a few months back by the librarian himself. He was usually very surly and scary, but he had taken a liking to Cora. Perhaps it was because she was incredibly mature, obedient, and intelligent for somebody so young, or perhaps it was because she had been a patron to this library ever since childhood. Either way, she was close with the librarian and it had finally paid off.

CRASH! Cora jumped at the loud noise just a few shelves over, but she didn't need to see to know who was guilty. June Freeman. June was Cora's best friend. Librarian had also given June a job here, but only upon Cora's insistence. June actually worked at a pub for a time before getting fired after spending too much time in front of the bar instead of behind it. When Librarian heard this, he openly refused to hire June. He would not have a hard-drinking party-girl in his library and he most certainly would not allow someone like that touch his beloved books! Or so he claimed. It was only from some hardcore pleading from Cora that got June the job but it did technically work eventually.

"If I catch you with a single toe out of line, it'll be the streets!" he threatened the blond, shaking a large finger right in her face.

"Yes, sir," June responded, but neither he nor Cora were fooled. They saw that mischievous shine in her green eyes and already, both of them had a feeling that maybe this wasn't the best of ideas. Librarian even gave Cora a warning look, silently telling her that any slip up on June's part would be held against her, though he did later promise that none of June's antics would ever cause Cora to lose her job. Cora had offered the man a sympathetic smile, equally afraid for June's sake, though June seemed totally unbothered by any of this, just glad to be working again. The way she saw it, even though she knew she had Cora to thank for this new job, she had won Librarian over in her own way and the only reason he'd said yes was because he needed fresh blood badly. Whether or not this was true was up for interpretation, but either way, it was thanks to Cora that the library now had one new, hotheaded, worker.

"My last boss was a total jerk!" June said, the moment Librarian left the room after giving the girl a job. "I hope he isn't like that!"

"June! Quiet! You can't bad-mouth your new boss already!" Cora admonished, hushing the girl in case Librarian came back.

"Sure I can!" June cried, missing the point. Cora tried to hush her again, but to no avail.

"I wonder if I should've left you jobless," the brunette told the blond and the blond only grinned cheekily up at her.

"You know full well that you would've gotten me this job no matter what!" she insisted and Cora knew she was right. That had been day one.

Now here they stood, a few weeks in and, all things considered, June was doing pretty well. She still got on Librarian's nerves almost every day but she hadn't caused too much trouble beyond an honest mistake and those never counted against her. Her record, in terms of intentional trouble-making, was actually pretty clean with her only real count being the time she beat a patron with a dictionary, but that was justifiable as the patron in question had been trying to get Cora in his pants and June wasn't going to have any of that…

"Hey baby girl! I think the only thing worth checking out here is you!" a tall, dark stranger murmured at Cora.

"Hey!" Cora yelped, frightened and disgusted by this man. "Go away. I'm not interested! And if you haven't noticed, I'm busy too!"

"Well then give me a chance. I can make you interested," the man purred, grabbing Cora's waist despite her protests.

"I don't want to be interested," she grunted, thrashing in his arms.

"Sure you do. You just don't know it yet," the man drew Cora closer in and the girl steeled herself, ready to bite him when he kissed her…

"Don't touch her!" somebody snarled. The man had barely turned around before his nose met a giant dictionary. He cussed and yanked away, allowing Cora time to wrench free from his grasp. It was then that Cora got a better look at her hero. It was an angry, no, furious, June. The blond gave the whimpering man a look that could kill as she stepped protectively in front of Cora. Cora's heart fluttered. She had never been more relived to see June in her whole life and she couldn't deny that the protective anger in her green eyes was kind of sexy.

"And just who are you?!" the man sneered, though he still cupped his injured nose.

"I'm going to be your worst nightmare if you don't leave my friend be!" June sneered again, pulling her lips back menacingly.

"Oh yeah, like a little girl like you could-" before the man could finish his next insult, June threw the dictionary at him, the sharp corner stabbing into his side. The man went down with a strangled cry and June walked over to him, kicking his stomach again. June had worked at a bar, so she knew how to handle rowdy men twice her size. So what if she got fired from that bar for excessive partying and slacking on her duties? She still retained a few things from that job and incredible fighting skills was one of them. Nobody hurt Cora and lived, as this man now knew.

"GET. OUT. NOW," the blond snarled lowly. She wrenched the man's head back by his short hair. Making sure their faces were only centimeters apart, she continued to hiss at him. Cora had never seen a scarier or more dangerous sight than that. "Don't you ever even look at her the wrong way again. Am I clear?!" her voice was barely above a whisper but Cora and the man both heard her loud and clear and one went running while the other smiled, touched. June let the man go after that, glaring holes into the back of his head as he ran out of the library. They hadn't seen him again and although he did report the attack, Cora was able to convince Librarian to keep it silent.

"That man was trying to assault me," Cora pleaded. "June only wanted to protect me."

"Is this true?!" the giant man glared at June.

"It is," she responded. Librarian had never seen her look quite so serious so that was how he knew this was real. If she had been smirking or trying to hide a laugh, he would've known it was only a prank, but the way her eyes seemed to burn with anger made it clear to him that Cora had honestly been in trouble. That also made it clear to him that June was a very dangerous girl to anger and that she would fight tooth and claw to protect her friends, especially Cora. It was probably one of Cora's fondest memories, the feeling of being protected by June leaving a smile on her face even a week after the event had happened.

The brunette set her pile of books down before moving over to the next shelf where she found June and a pile of book strewn about.

"Need help?" Cora teased. June grunted embarrassedly and took the arm Cora offered. "So, what happened?" Cora asked as she pulled June up.

"I tripped over my own feet," June grinned ruefully and rubbed her arm. Cora rolled her eyes affectionately and helped June restack the books.

"You're not very good at your job, are you?" she asked, bumping June's shoulder playfully.

"Perhaps not," June admitted. "But in my defense, trying to carry all these books on such a smooth floor was a bad idea."

"How is that in your defense?" Cora snorted. "That was your own fault!"

"Oh, whatever," June rolled her eyes. For a moment, the pair was silent as they shelved June's fallen books. Once the last book had been properly aligned, however, June turned to Cora.

"There is one job here that I am good at," she said, but before Cora could ask, June had her pinned against the shelf.

"June!" Cora squeaked. "Not here!" but June ignored her, giving her a wicked grin before pressing a kiss to her lips. Cora wanted to protest more (what if Librarian shows up?) but June's kiss had forced all thoughts from her head. Instead, Cora found herself deepening the kiss and moaning ever so slightly as June's fingers glided across her back and sides, getting dangerously close to her thighs on several occasions.

"I swear, you're incorrigible," Cora moaned as June began to nuzzle her neck.

"Whatever you do, don't swear here!" June teased, then she nipped once at Cora's neck and felt Cora tense up in pleasure.

"God, I love you!" Cora growled and June laughed. That pretty much summed up Cora's feelings for her: kind words in an exasperated tone.

"I love you too, and you know it," the blond said, still trailing lips across Cora. That pretty much summed up June's feelings. Genuine warmth mixed with teasing, both in terms of humor and sexual arousal.

"Cora?" a deep, booming voice echoed the area in which Cora was supposed to be working. Had she been able to, Cora would've let out a cry of surprise, but June's lips were pressed firmly against hers, preventing that. Cora felt June's lips twitch into a smile before they pulled away. Cora managed to compose herself just as Librarian rounded the corner.

"Yes sir?" she asked, pushing a few flyaway strands of brown hair out of her eyes. The moment he saw her, Librarian began to speak to Cora with a serious and urgent tone. He paused, however, when he noticed how red-faced and sweaty she was.

"Are you ok?" he asked. Cora, knowing what he meant, quickly thought up a lie to tell.

"Just a bit hot," she said. She heard June muffle a laugh and shot the blond a death glare. June shut up but she was still shaking with laughter.

"Ok…" Librarian said slowly, dragging out the second syllable. He knew something was up, but since nothing appeared out of place, he had nothing to pin on them and he really didn't have time to launch a full investigation. Because of that, he decided to let whatever this transgression was, go. He had more important things to do right now.

"I need you to watch the front desk for an hour," he said, returning to his original point, urgency back in his voice. "I have an emergency meeting I need to attend and you're the only one I trust with this task. Are you up to it?" he paused. Meanwhile, Cora sighed in relief, glad that she and June hadn't been caught. That might have been a bit harder to explain away. But then his question sank in.

"Me? You want me to man the front desk?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Librarian said, confidence in his voice. "You're the only one I trust," he repeated, casting a subtle glare at June who pretended not to hear it.

"In that case, I would be honored!" Cora replied, earning a small smile from Librarian. Then he turned back to June and his frown returned.

"You can take over Cora's shift as it appears you are finished with your own," he instructed briskly.

"Yes sir," June replied. Just for a moment, Librarian gave June a genuinely surprised look. He had been expecting some rude or snarky remark, but nothing came of it. But he quickly composed himself and bade both girls farewell, tossing Cora his master keys. Then, he was gone.

The moment he had stepped out of their range of hearing, however, a delighted fire entered June's green eyes.

"Now that we have the whole place to ourselves…" she began.

"Absolutely not!" Cora cut her off. "I am not getting in trouble while on the front desk! Especially not with you!"

"Well, you were complaining you were hot," June teased. "And you were probably wet too…"

"June!" Cora snapped at her friend, slapping her arm lightly. June only laughed in reply as Cora continued to chew her out.

"You're a buzz-kill," the blond scoffed once Cora finished her tangent.

"Get over yourself," Cora replied, lips quirking slightly at June's frustration. June continued to pout so Cora stepped up to her and kissed her lips quickly. "Come on, you can help me run the front desk," she murmured. The kiss from Cora did it. June instantly perked up and linked her arm with Cora's and the pair made their way to the front of the library.

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Obviously this is about June and Cora working at a library together. You can read it as a modern AU or a "1920s, they're all still alive and on Earth" AU or a "they both became sevens but one of their tasks involves fixing up the library" AU which would mean this is also a "June doesn't fall" AU. 
> 
> Also, this was semi-based on the fact that I volunteer at my own local library once a week, though I do not have a hotheaded lesbian lover to help or entertain me, the way Cora has June. Poor, lonely me, LOL.


End file.
